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“READY?” VADIM PAUSED at the door to the conference room at the hotel in Vegas and squeezed my hand.
I needed this encouragement, no matter how slight. There must be at least two hundred Incubi behind that door, almost all of them new to me. Meeting them felt like being introduced to Vadim’s family. These were his people, his tribe.
“Just give me a second.” With a free hand I smoothed out the wrinkles on the skirt of my dress, wishing I’d had more than ten minutes in the airport bathroom to freshen up. Apparently, Andras had called the meeting when Vadim and I were still in the air, leaving me no time to get ready.
“It will be fine,” Vadim whispered, leaning into me as I drew in a slow breath in an attempt to calm my nerves. “They’ll love you.”
He nuzzled the side of my face. A gentle dusting of frost prickled my skin, taking away the excessive stress.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “That works better than a glass of wine.”
“Let’s go.” He pushed the door open.
The Incubi sat around a number of tables arranged into a large square in the middle of the room. These must have been mostly the mated ones, as many seemed to be accompanied by a woman sitting at their side. I recognized Andras and Natasha.
More demons occupied the chairs that lined the four walls in several rows along the perimeter of the room. They must be the unmated ones, as I didn’t spot any females among them.
Everyone rose from their seats as we approached the table and inclined their heads in greeting as we sat down.
Vadim’s position was directly opposite from Andras. This way, between the two of them, the Grand Masters would be able to keep an eye on the entire room.
“This is my Jade,” Vadim introduced me, simple and to the point.
The demons around us bowed their heads to me once again.
“We’ve heard what happened, Jade,” Natasha said in Russian to me. “I am so happy to see you well.”
“Thank you.” I fought the urge to touch the bruise on my face. Still angry purple, I knew even the generous amount of makeup I had put on it at the airport wouldn’t cover it completely. The side of my face still throbbed, making me feel like the bruise was even more obvious than it probably was.
Vadim’s hand covered mine in my lap, grounding me. “You all have heard what Jade found out about the Priory.”
“That bastard Keller—” started a blond Incubus at the table.
I had got used to Incubi being generally larger than humans. This one, however, seemed to be bigger than an average demon. His hair was braided on the sides in a few plaits, with the rest of it streaming down his shoulders in golden curls, which brought Vikings to my mind.
“Ivarr,” Andras spoke patiently to the blond giant. “Raise your hand if you want to speak. There’s too many of us here today.”
With an eye roll, Ivarr raised his arm.
“My point is . . .” He dropped his hand to the table as soon as all attention was on him. “Why would we go by what that stinking excuse of a human being said? He was a murderer after all, an abuser, and an abductor. It would be fair to believe he was a liar, too.”
“We can’t ignore what he said,” Vadim argued calmly.
“Agreed.” Andras inclined his head. “If the threat is real, the consequences would be too great to disregard. Besides, Keller’s claim is in line with Raim’s warning about the Priory. In any case, a further investigation is needed.”
“At least we have been given an advance notice,” another Incubus at the table added. “And can prepare accordingly.”
Others voiced their agreement, and Andras raised his arm, calming the sudden commotion threatening to roll through the room.
“I insist we all stay in Vegas for now since our show running here is the main source of nourishment for the unmated Incubi. Those performing will stay at the hotel. The rest of us will remain in the area. I want everyone to keep an eye on each other.”
“The chances of another summoning shouldn’t be too high,” Vadim speculated. “It seemed to be Keller’s pet project. There is no proof of it having been sanctioned by the Priory. If that is the case, then with the death of Keller and his conjurer, it should be the end of it.”
“What if word leaks that we are getting ready for their attack?” Ivarr spoke again. “The Priory may decide to launch it sooner rather than wait until every one of us has been Forgiven.”
“Could they?” I whispered, leaning Vadim’s way.
However, he seemed to be deeply in thought, and didn’t respond right away.
The petite woman sitting next to me muttered quietly, “Maybe I should call Delilah, to get a general idea about the mood in the Priory.”
“Who is Delilah?” I couldn’t hold back the question, although she wasn’t addressing me, or anyone else, for that matter.
“She is a friend, sort of.” She shot a glance at Ivarr, who turned his attention to her at hearing Delilah’s name. “She helped me after I got off the Base.” The woman stretched her hand to me. “I’m Kitty, by the way.”
“Kitty Jones?” I gasped. “You escaped from Keller’s people, didn’t you?”
“I’m famous!” She exhaled a soft laugh, squeezing my hand. “Yep, that was me. And Delilah helped me get back to my life afterwards. She has a strong dislike of demons, though.”
“Is she a Priory monk, too?”
“No. Her father used to be, before he passed away. The organization doesn’t allow female members. Delilah only volunteers her help when needed.”
“Still too close for my comfort,” Ivarr added, his expression guarded.
“Well, I wouldn’t tell her what is happening,” Kitty assured him. “I’d just have a general conversation with her and hopefully she’d say something about the Priory herself.”
“Any word on Raim’s whereabouts?” Vadim asked, bringing all our attention back to the main discussion.
“He hasn’t been in touch since he left.” Andras shook his head.
“Have you tried to find him?”
“The last time I saw Raim, he didn’t seem to want to be found. If that’s the case, he will make it difficult for any search party to locate him now.”
“Sytrius could track him,” Ivarr said with a confident half-grin on his face. “Just give him some time.”
“We may not have that much time, especially if the Priory decides not to wait until all of us are Forgiven.” Vadim’s frown deepened. “They may start hunting us one by one now, those who are mortal already. It is important we have a talk with Raim. I believe he knows something, and I want to know what that is. How feasible would an effort to find Raim be?”
“He has quite a few properties all over the world. We know the location of some, but there may be more,” Andras replied.
“Would Raim even want to help you?” I ventured to ask. “Provided you find him?”
“He wasn’t happy with demon-human relationships from the start,” an Incubus with flaxen-blond hair spoke up.
A dark-skinned woman at his side who was obviously pregnant, said, “Garrett is right. Raim fiercely opposed the new agreement right up until he left. Even as he seemed to go along with the release of the women once ordered to by the Priory, Raim still tried to do everything he could to keep Incubi and humans separated.”
“If he knew about the Priory’s secret plans of exterminating us,” Vadim replied, “his motivation for opposing the changes might have been valid if somewhat misguided.”
“What motivation?” Ivarr scoffed. “Concern for the rest of us?”
“If Raim really had any concerns about anyone else but himself . . .” Kitty spoke, her delicate features set in an expression of aversion, “wouldn’t he have shared whatever information he had with the rest of us? I mean if he really wanted to help in the first place, why did he run away?”
“He does not sound like someone who would help in any way,” Natasha agreed in strongly accented English. “Looking for him may be a waste of time and resources.”
“It’s not a matter of Raim’s personal feelings,” Vadim argued. “At the end of the day, he is one of us. Regardless of what he has allowed himself to become over time, the urge to protect must still be deeply rooted in him, just like it is in the rest of us. If we get a chance to talk to him, I suggest we call on that natural instinct in him.”
“I don’t believe there is much of that instinct left, but I’d gladly volunteer to beat it back into him when we find him,” Ivarr muttered under his breath, and Kitty placed her slender hand on his bulging bicep in a placating gesture.
“Well, Sytrius will not be able to leave for any missions for the next little while. He has a family, and he should stay with them,” Vadim said. “But we’ll have to send several teams to check on Raim’s known properties on this continent, Europe and Africa. I don’t know if he has any in Asia.”
“He had a villa in the Middle East somewhere,” one of the single Incubi in the chairs by the wall offered, then added when all attention turned to him, “Turkey, I believe. At least he still had it in the nineteenth century, not sure if he still does, though.”
“Right.” Vadim nodded. “I suggest we select Incubi from the former retrieval teams for the search party. They are used to travelling and more familiar with the modern world than the rest.”
“Looks like this is going to take some time.” Andras rubbed his forehead.
“Raim can’t disappear completely. He’d have to be showing up in public from time to time to feed,” someone said.
“Unless he has acquired his own Sources,” Kitty suggested quietly.
The idea of some private dungeon full of captive women sent a chill up my back, making me shudder.
“I still believe searching for him would be a wasted effort,” Ivarr said as if to himself, but Vadim heard him.
He inhaled deeply before replying, “Well, for better or for worse, Raim has spent most of his existence looking after our interests. I hope he wouldn’t wish us harm now.”
“Our interests?” Ivarr glared at him. “Didn’t the reason he held on to the position of Grand Master for this long have more to do with his insatiable hunger for power than with his desire to serve his kind?”
“Maybe.” Vadim’s tone remained even. “We could speculate all we want, but the only way to get a clear answer on Raim’s motivation would be to ask him directly.”
* * *
AFTER THE MEETING WAS over, the hotel staff brought in platters and drinks. With a brief apology, Vadim walked over to Andras. Pouring myself a glass of orange juice, I got up to stretch my legs.
Aside from the two couples I’d met, I hardly knew anyone here.
Zayne wasn’t arriving in Vegas until the next day. He had been granted a one-day extension of his departure from Minsk, to sort things out with Tanya. As far as I knew, they had their movie date on Saturday, but there was a disagreement after that. Vadim got a message from Zayne after we had landed at the airport that he was coming to Vegas with Tanya and Sveta. It seemed they had been able to work things out between themselves.
I followed Vadim with my gaze as he moved through the room. Ivarr joined his conversation with Andras, all three gesturing energetically as the discussion seemed to teeter on the edge of an argument now.
“Ivarr is as passionate in life as he is in love,” Kitty’s voice sounded next to me, diverting my attention from my man to her.
“They all are.” I smiled. “Aren’t they?”
“True.” Her warm expression grew pensive. “I’m really happy to see you here, Jade. The moment we got the news about you being taken . . . I couldn’t rest until Zayne let us know you were okay.”
“Thank you. I didn’t know everyone knew about me.”
“Of course we did. The Incubi world is rather small. What happens in the life of one of them often affects the existence of the rest. It may not look that way on the surface, but their relationships have been forged for centuries and are often indestructible.” She leaned in closer. “I had no idea why Keller took me that day until Vadim’s full report about what happened to you came in, including the plans Keller had for me. That explained a lot, but also made me realise that if I hadn’t escaped that day, I might have been held captive in Kazakhstan all this time, too.” She shuddered, rubbing her upper arms with her hands. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“It could have been worse.” I exhaled a long, heavy breath. Despite the horrors of those two days, I knew that the evil that man was capable of was much bigger. “I’m just glad it’s ended.”
“You are very brave.” She nodded, gazing at me with awe and admiration, which made me smile again. “And smart.”
“Come on.” I slightly nudged her with my elbow. “Smart would’ve been to find a way to escape much sooner, like you did.”
A young woman with a stylish chestnut bob approached us from the side.
“Oh.” Kitty spun her way then back to me again. “This is Pat, my best friend. Jade.” She gestured at me.
“Nice to meet you.” I shook Pat’s hand. “Are you . . . with someone, too?” Despite a certain number of unmated Incubi, I understood all women present were demons’ partners.
Her chest rose with a sigh, and she quickly nodded.
“Pat is seeing Zander,” Kitty answered for her, pointing at a pale, dark-haired Incubus who was talking to a small group of Incubi several feet away from us.
“Seeing? We’ve had two dates. Two!” Pat shook her head, biting her lip. “And now . . . all this mess . . .” Her voice broke, eyes glistening. “I haven’t even had a chance to really get to know him. And now I’m afraid of having any feelings for him at all. But I can’t stop liking him . . . A lot.” She blinked rapidly, taking another deep breath. “What if something happens to him because of me and my feelings for him? This is so unfair . . . and . . .” She waved her hand in front of her face, struggling to compose herself.
As if sensing her distress, Zander, excused himself from his group and moved our way.
Kitty wrapped her arm around her friend’s waist. “Pat, sweetie, nothing is going to happen to Zander or any of them. We will deal with whatever comes our way. All of us.”
“I’m so sorry.” Pat pressed both hands to her chest. “I didn’t mean to get this upset.”
“Patricia.” Zander was at her side in an instant, a concerned expression on his face. “We should leave.” He turned to Kitty. “I’ll take her upstairs to my room to rest and will call for any updates later.” He inclined his head my way. “Jade, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Zander.”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m so sorry,” Pat repeated, leaning into him. “Jade, I hope to see you again,” she said as Zander led her away and out of the room.
“Pat is visiting from Seattle,” Kitty explained. “This is her second time here. She usually meets Zander in her dreams when they’re apart.”
“It must be hard.” I meant the visiting in the dreams part. Vadim did it to me on the plane, during our flight here. I had a dream I was surfing, and he wanted to see what it was like. Personally, though, I preferred the reality of having him near, body and soul. The haze of dreams, no matter how vivid, seemed like a poor substitute.
“It’s hard on all of us.” Kitty misunderstood me, obviously referring to the current situation and the threat to the Incubi. “If there is anyone who can deal with danger, though, it would be our Incubi, wouldn’t it?”
I nodded, loving the fierce optimism of this tiny woman.
“We’re having a dinner at our place tomorrow night,” she continued. “Pat is staying with us while she is visiting. Well, unless she is with Zander, of course. Andras and Natasha are coming, too. Sytrius and Alyssa . . . Oh, you have to meet their new baby. He is so adorable!” All worries melted from her face. “Little Nixi!”
“Nixi?” I smiled.
“Yes, his parents have shortened Phoenix to Nix, but he is too cute and cuddly even for that. Definitely Nixi. The very first cambion—human-Incubi baby. We all had been so worried about how he’d turn out, but he is simply precious. You’ll see. Please come for dinner. Unless you need some time to settle in first?”
“Oh, it doesn’t take me long to settle into a new place. I‘ll talk to Vadim, but I would love to come over.”
“Great! We live, literally, just around the corner of where they’ve rented a house for you.”
“Thank you. We’ll see you then.”
Just like that, I felt I’d become part of this wonderfully unique group of demons and people.